The 2020 YellaWood 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 4, 2020 at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 200 laps—extended from 188 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.66 mile (4.2 km) superspeedway, it was the 31st race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the fifth race of the Playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 12.
Report
Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a tri-oval.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 53 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 62 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Qualifying Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.
Starting Lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 3 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 4 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 5 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 7 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 9 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 10 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 11 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 12 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 13 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 14 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 15 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 16 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 17 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 18 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 20 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 23 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 24 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 25 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 27 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 28 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 29 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 30 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 32 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 33 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 34 27 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 35 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 36 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 38 53 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 39 62 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports ChevroletOfficial starting lineup
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 102 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 93 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 84 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 75 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 210 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 93 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 66 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 48 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 39 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 210 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 68 Extended because of Lap 182, 188, and 183 safety car situations.
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 402 16 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 413 28 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 200 364 21 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 385 10 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 446 19 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 200 317 30 8 Tyler Reddick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 348 23 38 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 200 359 32 15 Brennan Poole (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 200 2810 25 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 200 3011 35 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 012 12 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 3313 33 00 Quin Houff (R) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 200 2414 4 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 2315 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 200 016 20 42 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200 2117 36 51 Joey Gase (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 200 018 7 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 200 3519 34 27 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 200 1820 5 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 1721 13 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 1622 15 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 200 3323 3 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 198 2724 27 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 192 1525 14 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 192 1626 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 188 2027 6 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 1028 29 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 188 929 17 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 133 830 38 53 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 118 731 18 41 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 108 732 2 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 108 733 9 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 108 434 31 96 Daniel Suárez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 108 335 39 62 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 108 236 24 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 79 137 11 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57 138 26 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 8 139 22 95 Christopher Bell (R) Leavine Family Racing Toyota 1 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 58 among 18 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 13 for 54 laps Red flags: 2 for 21 minutes and 19 seconds Time of race: 4 hours, 5 minutes and 58 seconds Average speed:
Track limits controversy
Track limits are used at Daytona, Talladega, and the road courses. Officiating by NASCAR officials involving the finish of the race generated in regards to track limits drew considerable controversy afterwards. Initially, second-place finisher Matt DiBenedetto and sixth-place finisher Chase Elliott were penalized and moved to 21st and 22nd positions, respectively. NASCAR penalized DiBenedetto for forcing William Byron beyond track limits, marked with a double yellow line at the bottom of the track, and the sanctioning body penalized Elliott for voluntarily moving under the line. NASCAR later redistributed its penalty originally given to Elliott, assessing it to Chris Buescher for forcing Elliott beyond track limits. Race winner Denny Hamlin also maneuvered under the track limits boundaries on the final corner, but race officials ruled that he was avoiding a potential accident from DiBenedetto and Byron. Despite myriad negative reactions to the decision at Talladega and online, a NASCAR official later said that the rulings were "clear-cut". NBC commentators Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Jarrett called for NASCAR to remove track limits, but the sanctioning body, citing safety concerns, said the rule would stay in place.
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and six-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the action from the booth at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which was the last time this setup would be used, as starting with the next race booth commentators started calling races on site. Steve Letarte called the action on site. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled the pit road duties on site. Due to the red flag and to honour other programming commitments, the race was switched from NBC to NBCSN.
NBC / NBCSNBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr.On-Site analyst: Steve Letarte Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race for MRN when the field races thru the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the action from turn 1, Mike Bagley called the action for MRN when the field races down the backstraightaway, and Dan Hubbard called the race from the Sunoco tower just outside of turn 4. Winston Kelley and Steve Post called the action for MRN from pit lane.
MRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff Striegle Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyBackstretch: Mike BagleyTurns 3 & 4: Dan Hubbard Winston KelleySteve Post
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Denny Hamlin 3,141 1 2 Kevin Harvick 3,121 (–20) 3 3 Chase Elliott 3,097 (–44) 1 4 Brad Keselowski 3,094 (–47) 1 5 Martin Truex Jr. 3,085 (–56) 1 6 Alex Bowman 3,075 (–66) 2 7 Joey Logano 3,074 (–67) 8 Kyle Busch 3,053 (–88) 3 9 Austin Dillon 3,053 (–88) 1 10 Kurt Busch 3,048 (–93) 1 11 Clint Bowyer 3,036 (–105) 1 12 Aric Almirola 3,026 (–115) 13 Ryan Blaney 2,114 (–1,027) 2 14 William Byron 2,113 (–1,028) 1 15 Matt DiBenedetto 2,108 (–1,033) 1 16 Cole Custer 2,095 (–1,046)Official driver's standings